Blade supporting and sharpening assembly



Feb. 2, 1965 w. A. SHANLEY 3,167,888

BLADE SUPPORTING AND SHARPENING ASSEMBLY Filed July 18, 1962 I INVENTOR. 1Q WALTER A. SHANLEY N awfjflnfllmlhlmw ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,167,888 BLADE SUPPORTING AND SHARPENING ASSEMBLY Walter A. Shanley, 172 ,Marlborough St., Boston, Mass.

Filed July 18, 1962, Ser. No. 210,634 6 Claims. (Cl. 51-59) This invention relates to a blade supporting and sharpening assembly and magazine and to a novel blade sharpening process.

For reasons of safety, cleanliness and blade edge protection, it is extremely desirable to transfer a new blade from a magazine or dispenser to a razor head, and after use to sharpen the same blade before re-use or storage without having to handle the blade with the fingers. While the problem of new blade transfer to the razor has been overcome, the shaver has heretofore still been forced to manipulate with his fingers a used blade in order to effect a reconditioning or sharpening of its edges prior to re-use.

This has been due primarily to the construction and operation of the prior blade sharpening devices which required that the used blade be removed by handfrom the razor head and mounted in the sharpener. Generally these prior sharpening devices were relatively bulky and complicated, requiring various rollers, springs, and slides to controlthe movement of the blade relative to the abrasive or honingsurfaces during the sharpening opera tion. Also they were separate from and added to all the other individual shaving accessories required to be carried about by the user. And after a blade was sharpened in accordance with prior processes there was no Way 7 to replace that blade in the conventional dispenser for storage because such dispensers were sealed and spring biased to prevent the insertion of blades from without.

Under my invention, the aforementioned difficulties are overcome and shaving preparations are considerably facilitated by means of a novel razor and blade magazine and sharpener and blade sharpening process which enable the shaver, withoutiever touching. the blade with his fingers, not only toitransfer a new blade from the blade magazine to .the razor head, but also to raise up and effect edge conditioningor sharpening of that blade prior 7 to re-use while it remains within the opened razor head. After such sharpening, the blade may alternatively be reseated within the razor for immediate re-use'or be ejected from the razor and reinserted into the dispenser for later re-use. i I i I.

Also, my invention blade sharpener ismade more Simply and economically, yet effects a quicker and mor e thorough blade edge conditioning thanprior blad'e'sharpening devices; In normal use, the instant sharpener is removably mounted on the blade magazine to reduce the number ,of separate shaving accessories required to becarried about by the user. Further, the sharpening device itself cooperates with'themagazine to prevent blades from sliding out prematurely through the magazine end slots. and, when desired, to permit thev ready insertion of a.

opened razor head andthe blade elevated by the posi tioning member; "FIG; 3 is a perspective view of the blade positioning member of FIGS 1'and 2;

"FlGQ l is a top plan view withparts cut away'of the ICC razor of FIG. 2 showing the positioning member in the advanced position;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the blade magazine. Referring to the drawings, the safety razor illustrated herein is of the type more particularly described in US. Letters Patent No. 2,009,272, dated July 23, 1935, to which reference may be had for more specific construction details. It comprises a handle 10 having a tapered neck portion 10 upon which is mounted transversely a plate providing a head base orseat 11 for a conventional, centrally slotted, double-edged blade 12. Seat 11 has the usual pairs of spaced, end-to-end, elongated air holes or slots 13 set in from and parallel to its opposite side edges. Mounted on an extension of handle 10 and centrally of seat 11 is a transverse, upstanding blade locating bar 14 adapted to engage within the slot in blade 12. The razor has the usual top cap comprising hinged cap sections 15, 16 linked to handle 10 and which are shown in the drawings in their fully open position, but which can be closed down over a properly seated blade 12 by manipulating conventionally the lower end of handle 10. v

' Under my invention, a unitary blade sharpening device indicated generally at 17 is provided which has no moving parts and which is manipulable within theopened head of the razor to effect a simultaneous sharpening or edge conditioning of both edges of a blade 12 while that remains within the head. The sharpener comprises more particularly a generally rectangular casing 13 which is of a size to accommodate a small stack of used blades insertable into the casing through an end slot 19, and onto a blade positioning rib, but which is also narrower than the space between the razor cap sections 15, 16 when they are in their fullyopen position. Casing 13 has one wall 20 removably secured for easing access to the end walls of casing 18 by tabs 20' press fit into openings in said end walls, and on which is mounted a centrally located projection or raised portion 21 to which-is secured an up standing leaf spring 22.' The significance of the projection 21 and spring 22 will become apparent hereafter.

Casing 18 has also another wall 23 which is laterally inwardly curved and whichextends a considerabledistance beyond the opposite ends of casing 18 thereby making it'also considerably longer than blade 12. Mounted on the outside surface of the curved casing wall 23 near the side edges thereof are a pair of parellel, elonopened head of the razor "of the shapener to insure consistent and accurate blade edge conditioning. The guide means comprise a pair of straight, parallel, longitudinal ribs formed in the .wall' 23 of casing"18an d adapted to engage on each'side of and ride along blade locating bar 14, or more preferably and as illustrated herein,'the wall 23 of easing 18 is provided with a single,. centrally located, longitudinal, walled channel or recess 25 which extends appreciably beyond the end walls of casing 18 andwhich is just wide enough to. accommodate blade locating bar 14. As best seen in FIG. 2,

channel 25 ,is also relatively deep to permit a certain amount of up and down movement of sharpener 17 on blade'locating bar 14 for reasons that will become apparent hereinafter. It will be clear from the foregoing then that the sharpener 17 is manipulable by hand within the razor headwhen the cap sections 15, 16 are in their.

Patented Feb. 2, 1965 cooperates with the blade locating bar 14 to restrict the sharpener 17 to vertical movements in and out of the opened razor head and to reciprocating movements paraliel to blade locating bar 14- and hence parallel also to the adges of blade 12. o

7 Further in accordance with'the invention, blade positioning means indicated generally at 26 are provided for partially ejecting blade 12 from the razor and for maintaining the blade edges in even pressure contact with the abrasive elements 24 of sharpener 17, when that is reciprb'cated within the razor head. Positioning means 26 are adjustably mounted on razor handle 10 and are shown in the illustrated embodiment to comprise a generally rectangular, flat plate member 27 made of spring steel, nylon or another such relatively stiff, resilient material. Plate 27 is approximately the same size as seat 11 and has formed therein a central opening 28 whose diameter is slightly smaller than that of the base or" the the edge of opening 28 enabling opening 28 to enlarge; while the plate 27 is forced over the end of and along handle 10 to its normal position on neck portion 1% Peg holes may be provided at opposite end portions of plate 27 for hanging up the razor.

Mounted on opposite sideedges of plate member 27 at the ends thereof are pairs of similar, upstanding, gen-,

erally rectangular rigid tabs or fingersfit) corresponding to and adapted to be receivedin air slots 13 in blade seat I i 11 when member 27 is slid toward seat 11. Theiheight of tabs is less than the distance between the bottom or; blade seat 11 andthe top of blade locating bar 14 so tha-t 4 appreciable fo'rce to pull the sharpener and dispenser apart. 'The engagement of dispenser 31 with sharpener 17 is such that the aforementioned spring22 on projec- 'tion21' extends through opening and presses against the bottom' blade of the stack thereby squeezing and compacting the vbladestaclr and preventing those blades frominadvertently sliding out through, the end slots 34 and'also preventing other blades, from being inserted into the stack from without/thedispenser, Of course, when dispenser 31 is separatedlfrom sharpener: 17, the spring 22 is disengaged from the dispenser and the blade stack is loosened thereby enablingadditional blades to be dropped or inserted easily through the dispenser slots 34 and onto 'the blade stack. After the additional blades have beenins-erted into the dispenser, that can be reengaged withsharpener 17 by fitting it over projection, 21 as aforesaid whereupon the bias provided by spring 1 22 is reestablished and the blades, are again maintained to settle on the blade seat 11, and then-closing the razor cap"15,16. When the edges of blad'e 12 have become dull, usually after a relatively shorttirne inuse, the cap 15, 16 can be openedand the sharpener-dispenser unit '17, 31positioned-within theopenedr azor headwith the guide channeI-ZS-engaging over locating bar 14.-' Thereuponythe blade 12"can be elevated on locating bar 14 aboveiits seat 11 by advancing or'sliding blade position- 'ing'member26toward seat 11' and holding-it there with the same fingers that'hold thrazor-(CThe inclined top surfaces of the edges of blade 12, ar'e thereby pressed into engagement with abrasive elements 24 so that when sharpener 17 isreciprocated,on bar. 14,' elements 24 when member 27' is advanced along handle. portion -1t)" 7 toward blade seat 11, the tabs 36 will protrude through openings 13 and will engage the bottom. of and raise:

blade 12 .part way up on,'but not to the top of, blade locating bar 14. And for best results, the opening 28 in plate member 2.7is of a size such that the normal or slightly inside openings 13 in blade seat 11 so that the tabs '3) will always be aligned properly with the openings abrade the blade edges andithere is lefliected within the razor head itself veryquick, eflicientsharpening or conditioning of the blade.

It'will'be 'unders tood that wheniblade 12 is thus supportedby positioning member 26, it lies perpendicular to barkli and hence parallel to the [plane "of movement sharpener 17 as that: r eciproc'ates ionbar 14." And the abrasive elements 24 of the sharpener are always oriented 'qfor proper sharpenin'g'ofi theiblade' edges becauselhe a curvature of wall 19,,Which determines the angular rela- 13, yet will not interfere with the seating of blade 12 when razor cap 15, 16 is closed. 7

My invention includes a blade dispenser or magazine indicated generally at 31 which is ,adaptedto be coupled to the aforesaid blade sharpener 17 inunormal use, and

which'is'r'efillable upon disenagegrnent fromsaid sharpener. The dispenser 31'compri'ses more particularly -a hollow casing 32 for holding therewithin a stack of tralslots of alternate blades of the stack. of casing 32 areremovably secured together, by tabs 32' mounted on the top casing-wall and press fit into openings inthe bottom casing wall. Blade outlet slots way by engaging with the thumb the top blade of the stack through a top opening 36in the casing and slid-- ing the blade through one or the other of the end slots 34. Also, if desired, a pair of index'es37 may be molded, on the top wall of casing 32 at opposite ends of open-v ing 36 and one, of which will match the visibleend of the next blade to be, ejected to indicate the casing end Y '70 out of which the'blade will come." i

In accordance with my invention,,the wa1l of casing razorl seat, Thus' an-yabrading onghoning ,of the upper tionship of the abrasive elements'iz4i to. the blade is preset at the factory.

With my invention, a blade. can be sharpened in seconds as aforesaid. It'is:noteven necessary to invert the blade, orin other words,to', sharpen it on-both sides be .causethe turning-over or rounding of the blade edges as they: are pulled across the surface being shaved, whichis the primary cause of blade-edge dullness, always occurs oppositely to the direction of movement of the blade, that is. toward the upper-side of the blade as-itsits" in the sides of the blade edges.sufiicesItosharpen the blade. It

34 are provided at oppositerends of'casing 32 through; which the blades'rnay be alternately ejected in the'usual 32 opposite thumb opening 36'is provided with a cen- 'j on the top wall vof sharpeneri17's'uchthat it takesan I trally located opening 35 which is similar. to and adapted to very tightly receive the aforementioned projection 21 P is important to note alsothat during the entire-sharpen- 7 ing 'processthe operators fingers areshielded from the, blade :edges because the blade 12' is .enclosedbetween the cap sections 15, 16nd the lower'portionof sharpeneri17.

After blade 12 has been'sutficiently sharpened or conditioned, .it can be re-seated within the razor head simply by pushing down on theshzitpener-magazine unit 17, 31 while simultaneously releasing; positioning member 26.

The allowable downward'movement within thelhead of the'unit 17,31 which is determined by, the depth of,v channel 25 is desirably great enough, tov enable "blade 12 to bezdepressed far enough to the-razorhead-so that after .unit 17, 31-is removedthe blade can be engaged from above and re-seated by cap *sections15,,16 as they are closed. .As blade 12 isiseatedfpositioning member 26 ing tabs 30 just extend into, but do not completely fill, air slots 13.

Instead of re-using the sharpened blade immediately, it may be saved for later use, safely and efficiently, merely by disengaging dispenser 31 from sharpener 17. Whereupon, the blade 12 can be partially ejected from the razor head by manipulating positioning member 26 as aforesaid, and dropped easily through one of the dispenser end slots and onto the loosened blade stack. Subsequently, the dispenser can be re-engaged with sharpener 17 whereupon the blades of the stack are again pressed together and prevented from inadvertently sliding out of the dispenser.

It will be appreciated from the above that the instant process can be carried out without ever touching the blade with the fingers after its initial ejection from the dispenser and further that the sharpener and dispenser and positioning means can be sold as a unit and used, and my novel sharpening process practiced with, any conventional razor of the type described.

I claim:

1. A blade supporting and sharpening assembly comprising a handle, a blade seat, and a blade locating bar and for mounting a centrally slotted double edged blade, finger actuatable blade positioning means mounted on said handle said means having plural portions adapted to engage the bottom of said blade for a substantial distance along the cutting edges thereof, said means being adapted to raise up and support said blade along said edges on said locating bar a substantial distance above said seat, and a sharpening member reciprocatable on said locating bar, said sharpening member including means for cooperating with said locating bar thereby limiting the reciprocating movements of said sharpening member to short strokes parallel to said blade edges, said sharpening member having also a blade conditioning surface adapted to compressively engage between said plural portions and said conditioning surface the cutting edges of and thereby to sharpen said blade when said blade is supported by said positioning member and said sharpening member is adapted to be reciprocated on said locating bar.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said sharpening member has a spring extending appreciably outward from one wall thereof; and a hollow blade dispenser for holding therein a stack of blades, said dispenser being relatively deep and having means on one side thereof for removably interlocking with said one wall of said sharpener, said dispenser having also an opening in its said one side for receiving said spring whereby said spring extends into said dispenser and en gages said blade stack, the blades of said stack being thereby pressed together and held fast in place, and whereby said dispenser functions as a handle for said sharpening member when said dispenser is interlocked with said sharpener.

3. A blade supporting and sharpening assembly comprising a handle, a blade seat, and a blade locating bar and for mounting a centrally slotted double edged blade, finger actuatable blade positioning means mounted below said seat, said means having upstanding portions thereof adapted to engage the bottom of said blade for a substantial distance along said edges and to elevate and support said blade on said locating bar a substantial distance above said seat, and sharpening means manipulable with respect to said seat, said sharpening means having a centrally located channel on its underside, said channel being only slightly wider than and for slidably receiving said locating bar, said channel being also appreciably longer than said locating bar whereby said sharpening means is reciprocatable only parallel to said locating bar, said sharpening means having also on its underside a pair of parallel downwardly-outwardly inclined abrasive surfaces spaced on each side of said channel, said surfaces being arranged and adapted to move only parallel to and abrade the edges of said blade when said blade is compressively engaged between said positioning means and said sharpening means when that is reciprocated on said locating bar.

4. A blade supporting and sharpening assembly comprising a handle, a slotted blade seat, and a blade locating bar, finger actuatable blade positioning means mounted on said handle below said seat, said positioning means having a plurality of upstanding fingers arranged and adapted to extend through the slots in said blade seat, said positioning means being slidable along said handle toward said seat to advance said fingers through said slots and into engagement with said blade whereby said blade is elevated on said locating bar a substantial distance above said seat.

5. A blade supporting and sharpening assembly for conditioning the edges of a double edged razor blade comprising a casing reciprocatable with respect to said blade, a pair of parallel elongated spaced-apart abrasive surfaces mounted on one side of said casing, a pair of parallel elongated spaced-apart walls formed on said one casing side intermediate said abrasive surfaces, said walls being arranged perpendicular to said one casing side and parallel to said abrasive surfaces, and blade positioning means, said positioning means having a plurality of upstanding fingers arranged and adapted to engage one side of said blade for a substantial distance along the edges thereof, said positioning means being manipulable with respect to said casing for pressing the opposite edges of said blade against said pair of abrasive surfaces, and for reciprocating parallel to said walls and thereby sharpening said blade edges.

6. A blade supporting and sharpening assembly as defined in claim 5 wherein said casing has mounted on another side thereof an upstanding spring, and a hollow blade dispenser for holding therewithin a loose stack of blades, said dispenser being relatively deep and having means on its underside for interlocking with said other casing side, said dispenser having also an opening in its underside for receiving said spring whereby said spring extends into said dispenser and engages said loose blade stack, said blade stack being thereby compacted by said spring and whereby said dispenser functions as a handle for said sharpening apparatus when said dispenser is interlocked with said casing.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,123,383 7/38 Schroeder 51-498 2,641,358 6/53 Santo 221-232 2,678,126 5/54 Bailey 221-232 2,729,888 1/56 OShea 3060.5 2,756,548 7/56 Shanley 51158 2,764,854 10/56 Menken 5ll98 2,898,676 8/59 Guardino 3060.5

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD V. BENHAM, Examiner. 

1. A BLADE SUPPORTING AND SHARPENING ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A HANDLE, A BLADE SEAT, AND A BLADE LOCATING BAR AND FOR MOUNTING A CENTRALLY SLOTTED DOUBLE EDGED BLADE, FINGER ACTUATABLE BLADE POSITIONING MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID HANDLE SAID MEANS HAVING PLURAL PORTIONS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE BOTTOM OF SAID BLADE FOR A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE ALONG THE CUTTING EDGES THEREOF, SAID MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO RAISE UP AND SUPPORT SAID BLADE ALONG SAID EDGES ON SAID LOCATING BAR A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE ABOVE SAID SEAT, AND A SHARPENING MEMBER RECIPROCATABLE ON SAID LOCATING BAR, SAID SHARPENING MEMBER INCLUDING MEANS FOR COOPERATING WITH SAID LOCATING BAR THEREBY LIMITING THE RECIPROCATING MOVEMENTS OF SAID SHARPENING MEMBER TO SHORT STROKES PARALLEL TO SAID BLADE EDGES, SAID SHARPENING MEMBER HAVING ALSO A BLADE CONDITIONING SURFACE ADAPTED TO COMPRESSIVELY ENGAGE BETWEEN SAID PLURAL PORTIONS AND SAID CONDITIONING SURFACE THE CUTTING 